Team Seven English
by Sasha545
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha were selected to form Team Seven from Konohagakure. The boys didn't get along at all, but they have to learn how to work together in order to grow up. NaruxHinaxSasu.
1. Prologue

TEAM SEVEN

Prologue

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It was a very ordinary day, just like any other. The temperature wasn't cold, or hot, and that only meant one thing: summer was coming to an end. Hinata knew it the moment she saw the leaves beginning to turn slightly red. Soon, there would be children playing all over the place; happily running and jumping from one pile of dry leaves to another, annoying a certain teammate of hers that preferred silence and tranquility when it came to training.

The sun was in its 9 o'clock position up in the sky, ideal to start the training session.

Hinata always tried to make it there on time so she wouldn't make him wait. Although, being the obsessive man he was when it came to anything having to do with becoming stronger, he would still always beat her there and then tease her for being tardy.

For three years she had listened to him swear again and again that he would become strong enough to defeat him if they ever met each other again. Every time she heard him say that, she felt a tiny bit of hope in her heart that the wish would come true and he would return to the Leaf Village.

The young woman walked towards the training spot she was supposed to meet her teammate at. The idea of being alone with him didn't make her nervous the way it had in the beginning. So many days had gone by with them training by themselves, that those very same days had turned into months and then, months had become years.

Years. Alone. Just him and her.

Together they had seen snow, the flowers blossom, sun, leaves falling, rain, flowers budding again, fruits, festivals and new years. The awkward, clumsy and quiet relationship between them had become an everyday thing. There weren't as many uncomfortable moments where neither of them said a word and their gazes could meet now without the necessity of Hinata looking timidly away.

They had once been a group of three, but now they were only two. They had been only two for three years now. Occasionally Kakashi would join them on a mission and when they needed a fourth companion on the team, Sakura Haruno or Ino Yamanaka would always gladly offer to fill the void in their group.

At the very beginning, his absence had been hard to bare. Even if he didn't say so, he missed him just as much as she did. After all, they had become Team Seven from the Leaf Village.

From that very first day, back when they were just kids, they hadn't gotten along too well. She smiled at the memories as she wrapped her hands in bandages, reminded of Sasuke-kun and his silence. He was so quiet, but he had always looked annoyed and he was constantly giving her orders. He would even yell at her when she couldn't keep up with them, but then ignore her when she talked to him only to then question her about things that made her blush.

Naruto-kun on the other hand was loud, hyperactive and cheerful. He would jump to defend her every single time Sasuke was being hurtful. And many times they had ended up rolling on the floor punching each other because of his hero complex, always needing to save a lady that was in trouble. Naruto-kun had been obsessed back then with ramen and Haruno-san. Remembering that brought a sad smile to her face. Would it still be like that?

She started hitting the log on which on Kakashi-sensei had tied Sasuke-kun down for survival training; their very first mission. She smiled softly; she could still see that irritated look on his face. They had stood right in front of him eating, and all he could do was watch. He had insisted over and over that he wasn't hungry anyways but he had ended up screaming at Naruto to stop making fun of him. She could still hear that bell sound that he had been bragging about in front of Sasuke, because, for the first time in his life, he had beaten the Uchiha in something.

"Hinata! Training so early in the morning?" A kind voice greeted her from behind. She turned around to see Kakashi-sensei standing there. "Are you waiting for a certain student of mine?"

"Yes, sensei." She answered with a smile. "He wants to practice his new technique with you today, but he told me to come watch because he wants to spar with me afterwards. Although… I'm a little puzzled by the fact he isn't here yet. Have you seen him?"

"No…" He answered raising one of his hands, the other was was holding something else. His single visible eye was completely focused on reading one of those horrible erotic books he liked so much. "But I did happen to see another student of mine, one that left the Leaf Village without even saying goodbye to me."

"W-what?" Hinata asked surprised. After all, three years had gone by without hearing anything about him. "Where…?"

"I saw him at the Village." Kakashi answered shrugging. "It looks like Team Seven is complete again. That's nostalgic."

"Are you sure? Are you completely sure he is back?" Hinata edged closer to Kakashi, her normal shyness gone. The news had erased her anxiety at being so near to someone else. "Is he staying?"

"Hinata…Hinata… Why so many questions all at the same time? Calm down…" Kakashi hadn't seen her look so spirited about anything in a long while. "He said he is staying this time. Go give him a nice welcome… that other _baka_ is surely with him already, that's probably why he isn't here. I'm sure he wants to see you. Tell them both that Team Seven is complete once more and that you must report this news to Tsunade-sama."

"Yes!" Hinata shouted.

She ran through the woods, so fast she felt her legs burning. She couldn't stop smiling. She didn't care if she ran out of breathe and once again wouldn't have anything to tell him, only blushing and stuttering when she looked into his eyes. The only thing that mattered was that if Kakashi-sensei was right, he was back!

As she ran she couldn't stop thinking about the first day the three of them had started their journey together, the day they had become a team.

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"Dobe_.(Dead Last)"_ He said coldly when he spotted that blond hair of his. He was much taller than he remembered. "Time goes by quickly."

"Teme _(Bastard)…"_ Half a smile appeared on his face. So much time had passed since he last saw that arrogant bastard, but his eyes looked as hostile as ever. "I really hope you haven't been wasting your time these past three years; I don't want it to be _that_ easy to defeat you this time!"

"Of course I haven't wasted my time." Sasuke answered, stepping forward to meet Naruto. "Have you?"

"I learned plenty of new techniques just so I could definitely beat you." Naruto said raising his hands so he could fix the position of his forehead protector.

"So have I. I became an expert in kenjutsu _(swords jutsu_)." Sasuke answered sliding a katana from its sheath. He was carrying it tied to the belt around his hips. "It's called Chokuto".

"Swords and katanas? Did you give up with ninjutsu and genjutsu then?" Naruto also took a step towards him, curious about the fact that Sasuke had gotten that sword. "That's disappointing. Now that I finally know how to deactivate a genjutsu, you've given up on them."

"No. My genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu have all reached a very advanced level." Answered Sasuke. "Either way Naruto, there is something we must discuss. Now."

"Sure, let's go eat some ramen; we have a lot to catch up on." Naruto placed one of his hands on Sasuke's shoulder, not really caring much about what he had been about to say. "Your clothes look weird Sasuke. Hehe. I wish Hinata-chan was here to see you… then we could laugh together at your diva complex."

"Can you get serious for a moment, dobe?" – Sasuke shouted.

Whatever it was that he wanted to tell him, he obviously wasn't going to wait any longer. He had resolved to tell him as soon as he saw him again.

"Stop shouting at me!" Naruto answered, suddenly serious. "God… when you make that face you scare even me. It's the same look you had when you were tied up to that log."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm talking about our first day training as Team Seven" Naruto answered. "Damn, it's strange to remember that."

"Hmph." Sasuke muttered, slightly blushing in embarrassment about what had happened that day. "I had already forgotten all about it."

"Don't you think it's odd the way everything turned out? Nothing ever came out as we planned."

Sasuke's mind drifted to the day it had been announced that they would be a team. It hadn't been the best of choices and he had definitely not been pleased about it at the time. Months had passed before he had realized and accepted that destiny had put him together with Naruto and Hinata. He hadn't seen Naruto in three years…. and yet, he could still feel their friendship. Now, he couldn't even imagine living in a world where those two hadn't been his teammates. He was sixteen now, but back then when Team Seven was first assembled, he had just turned twelve.

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Note

Wanted to thank the adorable **Ztothe9** for being my beta once more on this one, even though she isn't a regular Naruto fan xD

This is a translation from my fic Team Seven, which is originally written in Spanish and has around 17 chapters already. It's basically a friendship/love triangle that forms between Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke. I know the mains characters (in the character selection thingy) are Hinata and Sasuke, but I want it to be clear it's about a love triangle.

The fic is divided into four arcs for a better understanding of the time line.

First arc has 10 chapters (2 of them divided into two parts). It talks about their lives as kids, trying to get along and becoming a team together.

Second arc has (until now) around 7 chapters and it is going on weekly. It talks about the departure of one of the team's members and how another one stays behind in the village.

Third arc talks about how this members comes back to the village (well you can tell this is where the prologue took place as a preview of what's to come) and the ways their relationship dynamics will change being teenagers.

Last arc is about taking decisions and growing up, although I don't have all figured out, I'll do it while I write.

Thanks, please review cause I don't have such a great reception when I write in English, and I just wanted to share my story with everyone.


	2. Chapter 1: Konoha's Team Seven

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Konoha's Team Seven**

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There was a lot of noise in the room they were all waiting in. They had gathered there many times before; after all, they had been classmates since childhood. This time it was different though. This day they gathered not as students, but as ninjas.

Hinata Hyuga was eleven years old. Most of the kids gathered in the classroom shared her age, but not her personality. She kept her head down, timidly watching her former classmates. Everyone there had a close group or were at least friendly with one another. They were sitting in two and threes, talking excitedly about what they had done over the last few days since taking the final exam in the academy.

Hinata had no one to talk to; truth be told, she wasn't very good at making friends or even holding conversations with others. Even the people that lived in her house, her own family, ignored her, considering her nothing but a nuisance. The explanation for that was really quite simple…Hinata Hyuga was weak. Hinata Hyuga always gave up. Hinata Hyuga never made anyone to listen to her.

She nervously played with her fingers under the table, thinking of the only person who had ever made her feel like she wasn't a useless and complete waste of a ninja and what he could be doing. Naruto Uzumaki.

It was supposed to be a happy day for her, but she couldn't help feeling miserable that she would no longer be able to see him every day, to listen to his jokes and hear his laughter. She had only entered the Ninja Academy when she found out Naruto was going to attend it too. Her father had already given up on her by then and had no intention of disgracing the Hyuga name by allowing her to become the laughingstock of the academy. Going there hadn't been an option. But when Hinata began begging to go to school, wanting to study and prove she could be as strong a ninja as he was, his curiosity won him over and he gave his daughter the money to attend the classes where they would hopefully teach her those skills he was so desperate for her to learn. But instead he had watched her fail.

Hinata sat in the very back of the room, next to someone she didn't know. Some kid from one of the other two classes. She sighed, staring at the table, always feeling so nervous, so shy around the others.

But her luck seemed to have changed that day, because she suddenly heard a voice she knew so well…

"Hey! Hey! Can't you see this forehead protector?" Hinata raised her head and a blush rose on her cheeks as her heart starting to beat faster and she couldn't help but smile. Sitting in the row to the left, just a few tables away, she saw Naruto Uzumaki. "Starting today, I'm also a ninja!" Naruto was laughing, clearly happy. The sound of his laughter made her feel like she was floating on a cloud. "I mean, this looks really good on me, right?"

If anything could put her in the best of moods and make her forget everything that happened at home and around her, it was Naruto Uzumaki's smile.

For some strange reason, people used to run from him, as if he was afflicted with a very contagious disease. She had been forbidden from even speaking to him and on many occasions she had been lectured and screamed at for simply asking if she could invite Naruto to her house to play together. So she had watched him from the distance, always following him, but never gathering enough courage to come close enough to say 'Hello'.

And like everything she did in life, every time she thought she was ready to take that next step and approach him, she ended up giving up on it before she even tried.

_Naruto-kun was able to graduate from the Academy_… -She thought staring absent-mindedly in his direction. She was pleased. She had really tried so many times to find a reason to talk to him. Maybe she could have even offered to help him with his ninjutsu. Ever since Naruto had saved her from those bullies, he had become a sort of idol to her; he had become that person we admire as we grow up and she would have done anything to help him.

Suddenly, as if he could hear the wishes in her heart, she realized he was staring back at her. Her cheeks burned red and her hands started shaking, as she asked herself what she should do. Could she gather enough courage to say 'hi'? Could she even manage to look at him without turning away from his gaze? Or greet him without stuttering? He was now smiling at her, blushing. It was the first time he had ever looked in her direction; that he had even noticed she was there.

But Hinata's heart fell as she suddenly realized that the shy smile on Naruto's face wasn't directed at her. It was for the girl right behind her: Sakura Haruno.

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He rested his chin on his intertwined fingers, his eyes focused and looking forward. The day had finally arrived. They would tell him what he was supposed to do now that he had accomplished the rank of gennin. He was only twelve years old, but his brother had graduated from the academy when he was seven. Being the younger of the two, he had spent his entire life trying not only to catch up to him, but to surpass and defeat him.

Now he just wanted to kill him.

He could get one step closer to that desire if he was assigned a team leader who would actually teach him, who would take him as his student and make the most out of him.

His teachers at the academy had labeled him a 'genius' and it was time to show it. He was intelligent enough to learn anything. And he possessed the grim determination to become the greatest ninja in Konoha and finally face Itachi. He had to make him pay for all the pain he had brought to his life, for the massacre of their clan, for his loneliness.

_Every step I take, I get closer to you, Itachi Uchiha. _

He clenched his fingers tightly, ignoring the ache. He didn't even notice the complete chaos in the classroom…all the talking, yelling and laughter. Most of them spoke only nonsense anyway. They didn't seem to understand that it didn't matter who graduated from the academy or who didnt; it was about who would live or die on the road. At that moment, he was determined to be one who survived and he knew he would kill anyone who was stupid enough to get in the way of his destiny: fulfilling the vengeance of his clan.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

He glanced to see who was calling him, the rest of his inexpressive face motionless. He knew perfectly well who that annoying voice belonged to. It was one of those brainless girls that had been obsessing over him since the academy and just wouldn't stop bothering him. They called themselves his "fans". In his eyes, they didn't even exist.

Her name was Sakura. He knew that. She had been following him around wherever he went, unable to understand that his silence towards her wasn't an act of arrogance or an attempt to act cool; he simply had nothing to say to her. He didn't care about her at all. His mind was completely focused on his objective, on his goal and dream.

_When will she realize she means nothing to me? When will she leave me alone?_

"Can I sit next to you?" The girl asked.

He just stared back at her with hostility. Maybe that way she would get the message through her thick skull. He didn't want to sit next to someone who wouldn't stop talking to him, constantly interrupting his thoughts, unrelenting in her pursuit to break that wall he had created between the world and him. All he wanted was to listen to the instructions they were about to give him in peace, and then get out of that place.

That's why he didn't answer. If she was even a vaguely intelligent girl, she would understand his silence.

"Hey! I was going to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke moved his eyes from the pink haired girl to the blond one next to her. The slightly more attractive girl, but who was as simple and persistent as Sakura, was called Ino Yamanaka.

"First come, first serve!" Sakura Haruno complained.

"I came into the classroom before you!" Insisted Yamanaka.

"I did!" Haruno whined.

Soon the table was surrounded by girls from all the classes, not just his. Some of them he had never seen before and he didn't even know all the names of the ones he had. The only thing that seemed to matter to them was sitting beside him. Should he be flattered by this?

"No, me!"

"I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"I arrived here before any of you!"

"I want to be close to him!"

"Sasuke-kun is mine!"

_How annoying…_- He thought as he turned his face forward once more.

Did any of those girls even know him? Did any of them attend his parent's funeral? Did any of them even talk to him before that? Did any of them try to see beyond his appearance? Of course not. If they had been that close they would've seen the monster forming inside of him; they would have run away terrified.

No one knew him. None of the girls in the class did because honestly, none of them had taken the trouble to do so. Nobody knew what he was capable of. They admired him because of his clan name; they felt curiosity because they knew he was the last of the Uchiha. They would speak to him because he was the best in the class. It had always been like that, they chased him as if he was honey and they were flies.

All of them, except one.

Even now, when all of those girls wanted to sit next to him, she remained sitting quietly on the other side of the room, with a strange expression on her face, distracted and withdrawn. She never approached him. Maybe she was afraid of him? And if she was, then that was smart. He was an Uchiha, and Uchiha were meant to be feared.

But what caught his attention now was the way that Hyuga girl was staring at…Naruto? Bah! She was a complete idiot too, like everyone else in that clan. The only thing interesting about her was how useless she was, considering Neji Hyuga had been the best gennin of his generation and someone he wanted to defeat if the occasion ever arose. Neji would be a great opponent to gauge his strength on.

Sasuke was thrilled he wouldn't have to see Hinata Hyuga, nor Sakura Haruno or Ino Yamanaka, and any of those other dumb girls in "The Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club" ever again.

Besides, they were all weak. He was sure they would end up performing some useless job inside the Village; one with a low mortality rate and little probability of failure. The perfect vocation for simpletons like Ino or Sakura would be medical ninjas. For someone like Hinata Hyuga, he didn't even expect that. With a little bit of luck her father would manage to marry her off to a rich feudal lord. It was in her best interest to forget the whole ninja thing; it just wasn't something meant for someone like her.

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Once again they all seemed to forget about him. He should have been used to it by now. The difference this time was they were ignoring him to pay attention to that idiot, Sasuke Uchiha.

He fisted his hands in irritation, looking at him from across the room. All of those girls were fighting each other just to sit next to that jerk; none of them had even considered seeing if he would let them take HIS seat. Sakura-chan had actually punched him in the face just to get him out of the way so she could get to Sasuke. Was he that invisible to Sakura-chan? That thought depressed him but it soon turned into fury.

What did Sasuke have that made him so special anyway? He couldn't stand it anymore that everyone kept ignoring him because of that guy!

He leapt across the room, landing on the table right in front of Sasuke, squatting down till they were nose to nose. They both growled, uncomfortable with each other's presence. However, Sasuke was so "cool" he didn't even speak to him; he thought that his ridiculous hostile look was going to intimidate him. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't scared of anything! He remained crouched in front of him knowing that someone as dim as Sasuke Uchiha wasn't going to frighten him.

"Naruto! Stop staring at Sasuke-kun!" He heard Sakura-chan shrieking at him from the side.

He turned to her, his face a mask of worry. That voice made him want to throw himself at her, hug her, bring her close to him and tell her that they belonged together for all of eternity. But at the same time, her shrill tone startled him. And the look Sakura was giving him, along the rest of the girls, was terrifying.

_Sakura-chan…_- He thought, petrified.

He turned around once more so he could study Sasuke. They were facing each other, separated by only a few centimeters. What did that idiot have that he didn't? Why couldn't he make Sakura-chan stare at him with that same tender look she gave to Sasuke?

_Everyone is so obsessed with Sasuke…Sasuke this! Sasuke that! What makes him so special? _

The Uchiha didn't move, not even an inch. Did he actually think that just by staring at him with that irreverent look he was going to intimidate him into moving? For a moment, Naruto seriously considered beating the crap out of him, giving him the beating of a lifetime. One to make him realize that from that day forward Naruto was going to be the best of the class, become number one, and fulfill his dream of being the Hokage.

"Sasuke-kun! Just beat him up!" Naruto heard Sakura say with anger. Was he so insignificant to her? Sasuke this! Sasuke that! Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!

All of a sudden something hit him from behind. The kid sitting at the table in front of Sasuke had jerked his arm back hitting Naruto in the rear, causing him to pitch forward just enough so Sasuke's lips and his crashed together as if in a kiss.

He couldn't compare the repugnance he felt with anything else he had ever experienced before. He wanted to throw up the delicious ramen he had eaten that morning. He felt as if he had just put his lips against the ceramic of a public toilet or something worse. He started to gag as Sasuke showed his revulsion and horror by coughing and wiping his lips desperately with his sleeve.

"Naruto! I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke screamed in disgust.

But when the first wave of nausea had passed, Naruto realized all those voices that had previously been encouraging Sasuke to beat the crap out of him, had fallen silent simultaneously.

"I sense danger…" Naruto whispered turning his head slowly to look at them, scared of what he might find. The tension in the room was so thick, he felt he could have even touched it as it floated around him and the girls.

"Naruto…you…" Sakura stepped forward, cracking her knuckles as she prepared to give him the beating of a lifetime.

"It was an accident…" He tried to justify himself.

But it was too late. Suddenly, at least 10 girls began punching and kicking him.

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… _Starting today, you are all officially ninjas; however… you are still gennins. It's going to get hard from here. _

_You will all be placed in a three man cell consisting only of gennins, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin ranked teacher's supervision. I'll tell you the configuration of the three man cells now. Team One will be… _

… _Next, Team Seven. Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke. _

As the three of them silently walked down the streets of Konoha, Hinata still couldn't believe how lucky she was. She had prayed for that miracle for so long. She had hope with all her heart that one day, Naruto and she would be in the same group, so they could share, talk, laugh and fight next to each other. She had promised herself she would die for him if it was necessary, anything if he would just notice her.

Her group consisted of Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. From that day forward they would be Team Seven from Konoha. That made her so happy. Although, as they sat together eating their respective lunches in silence, she realized that there was a certain degree of hostility between Uchiha-kun and Naruto-kun. She was sitting between them, and she blushed as she noticed her proximity to Naruto.

"I still don't understand why a brilliant ninja such as myself, has to be stuck in a group with you." Naruto said staring off to the side away from Sasuke, but it was obvious who he was talking to.

"Hmph."

Hinata felt so uncomfortable that she still hadn't even touched her rice balls.

"Just make sure you don't become a nuisance. Dead last." Sasuke said.

"NANI! What did you say?" Yelled Naruto, raising his fist in Sasuke's direction.

"Do you want to fight, do-be?" Sasuke retorted, making sure to emphasize the last word.

Neither of them seemed to notice they were having an argument with Hinata in the middle of their growls and taunts. She started to feel as if she was running out of air. She just wasn't used to people treating each other that way around her. She wanted to tell them something so they would stop staring at one another with such frightening looks.

"G-guys…"She tried to say, but her voice was just a whisper that got lost between them. Neither of them seemed to notice her, instead glaring at each other with such deadly intent that Hinata really feared they would kill one another. So she was surprised when the next comment was directed at her.

"Finish eating already." Sasuke ordered Hinata with authority. "We have to be back at the academy by twelve so we can meet our jounin instructor".

"Hey! Don't speak to Hinata that way!" Naruto yelled pointing his finger right in Sasuke's face. "She must be as upset as I am to be stuck here with you. That's why she isn't eating!"

"Naruto-kun…" Whispered Hinata trying to find a way to tell him that it wasn't like that, but her shyness defeated her. "I…"

"Uh?" Asked Naruto. "What did you say? Speak up, I can't hear a word you are saying."

"I… I…" She felt her cheeks burning. She couldn't do much more than extend her lunch out to Naruto, offering it to him with her head bowed.

"For me?" Naruto asked confused. No one was nice to him, with the exception of Iruka-sensei. Hinata nodded without looking at him. The young man smiled with joy, as if he had found his new best friend. "Aren't you going to eat some too, Hinata?"

Hinata shook her head from side to side still not raising her eyes from the ground. Sasuke stared at the scene confused, but he didn't say a word. His eyes just traveled to the clock in the light post in front of them, knowing that Naruto had exactly five minutes to finish that.

Hinata smiled, embarrassed, realizing Naruto was eating her rice balls one after the other, enjoying them to the point where he would stop to lick the remnants from his fingers and lips.

Sasuke found himself becoming annoyed by the whole thing; that was his favorite food after all. Why would that girl offer Naruto her food and not him? Back at the academy all the girls offered him things just so he would speak to them, but Hinata didn't even seem to notice he was there sitting beside her too.

"Hey Hinata! This is really good!" Naruto exclaimed licking his fingers. It was the first thing besides ramen that he had enjoyed that much. Sasuke felt like he was rubbing it in his face. "Did you make these?"

"Y-yes." She answered, studiously studying her hands as she blushed.

"Hmph. If you get in my way just because you feel weak from skipping your meals Hyuga…" Sasuke said gravely without looking at them. "I'll treat you as poorly as that useless Naruto"

Hinata didn't say a word. Naruto had to use every fiber in his body to stop himself from hitting Sasuke for treating her like that.

"Hinata, you'll make a man really happy someday if you keep cooking like this." The blond said, swallowing what he had in his mouth. The smile on Hinata's face was so sincere, so real, that she almost broke into tears of joy when she heard Naruto say that.

"I wonder how well Sakura-chan will cook when we get married."

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AN: Thanks for reading! And thanks to the lovely **Ztothe9** who is beta'ing for me. I couldn't translate this fic without her.


	3. Chapter 2: Kakashi Sensei

**Chapter 2**

**Kakashi Sensei**

Sasuke was careful to never show what he felt or thought. Most of the time he was naturally quiet and withdrawn; he cared little about the affairs of others. But the evident anxiety that girl displayed around the Uzumaki kid was really starting to aggravate him.

The only comfort was that all of that excessive attention wasn't aimed at him. He knew that if it had been any other girl from his ex classmates selected to join him on the team, she would've been infatuated with him (as had happened during his entire academic career). She would've ended up being completely useless to them; only worried about catching his attention without contributing anything to the group. Having Hinata Hyuga as a member of Team Seven could have its benefits: he wouldn't have to endure one of his obsessive fans in the group.

However, there was a huge negative in the whole equation…it made him sick to his stomach to have to put up with a girl pining over the biggest idiot in the Leaf Village. What did she see in Naruto anyway? Was she blind, deaf or just stupid? Someone must have dropped her on her head as a baby.

As the three of them walked along surrounded by an awkward silence, he realized that Hyuga girl wasn't like his fans and stalkers. She was quiet, reserved and very shy. Everything made her blush and she would stutter out her responses if Naruto spoke to her. On the other hand, if Sasuke spoke to her or even looked in her direction, Hinata ignored him as if he wasn't even there. Was she trying to annoy him or was it possible that she truly didn't care about him at all.

If Sasuke spoke to her, Hinata couldn't maintain eye contact for more than a second before looking away. Was it shyness or perhaps fear? Sasuke hadn't decided yet. But did he really care? No. He didn't. It didn't matter to him what those two did, as long as they didn't get in the way of his plans.

Nevertheless, after that Naruto idiot threw out his comment about marrying Haruno, Hinata had seemed even quieter than usual. She walked along in a deep melancholy, her head bowed. Could it even be possible that the girl had a crush on Naruto? After all, she was always looking his way and the reactions she had around him made it pretty obvious she was feeling something towards him. Shuddering, he repressed that thought immediately. It was too hard to imagine someone loving an idiot like Naruto. She was probably just shy. Yes, that must be all there was to it. Although, if he really thought about it… it was way more irritating that he was wasting his time wondering about Hinata Hyuga.

The three of them walked back to the Ninja Academy and sat to wait with the other groups in the classroom. They watched as one by one each of the designated groups left the room with their new jounin instructors. Finally Team Seven was the only group left. As the hands on the clock slowly ticked their way past 3 PM and their own teacher still hadn't arrived, Naruto lost any semblance of patience.

He jumped up suddenly and began to pace the room, making lap after lap around the small area. Hinata followed him with her eyes, her cheeks turning a faint pink from whatever thoughts crossed her mind. Sasuke couldn't stop staring at the clock as he waited impatiently to get all of this over with already. Naruto continued to restlessly move about, occasionally opening the door and sticking his head out to look in the hall, muttering about whether their instructor was ever going to make it.

"We've been waiting for three hours!" He suddenly shouted breaking the uneasy silence between the three of them. "Wasn't he supposed to get here by twelve?"

"Shup up already." Sasuke ordered him.

"Sasuke…"Naruto growled. "_Teme…"_

They both glared at each other before Naruto snorted in disdain and turned away from Sasuke as his lips settled into a frown. He then continued to walk back and forth across the room with his hands jammed in his pockets. Bored with that he leapt onto the tables and began to walk across them as he began to whistle loudly. Finally when he had run out of annoying things to do, he sullenly plopped down next to Hinata.

Sasuke could not help looking at them as they were right in front of him now. The girl kept her head down staring at her hands. She usually looked uncomfortable, but it was even more apparent when Naruto would approach her.

"Hey, Hinata…Has Sakura-chan ever talked to you about me?" Naruto asked enthusiastically. "She loves me? Right? Right?"

"Ha..Haruno-san and I aren't really that close." She answered, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Sasuke watched as she lowered her shoulders even more, sinking further into herself, her misery etched in every line of her body. "I'm..I'm sorry… Naruto-kun."

"Come on! You can tell me! I promise I won't say a word to her." Naruto insisted with a huge smile on his face.

"I've..I've t-told you the truth, Na..Naruto-kun" Hinata answered as she squeezed her eyes shut refusing to look at him.

"Uhmmm…"Naruto scratched his head, wondering what the issue was with this girl.

"You should worry about your ninjutsu instead of someone like Sakura Haruno." Sasuke said with a smirk and a look of superiority. "Your ninjutsu is embarrassing."

Naruto softly growled at him again but didn't reply. The room was once more completely silent. Conversation between them would never be something that flowed easily. Sasuke was a quiet person, Hinata didn't speak unless she was forced to and Naruto was irritating, at least for Sasuke. It was more than obvious that their group would fail.

_An Uchiha doesn't fail._ – Sasuke thought as he tightened his fist. He repeated that to himself over and over again in his thoughts.

Even if he had to do everything on his own, he wouldn't let his team become the laughing stock of the Leaf Village. He suddenly found himself wishing to have any other member on his team in Naruto's place, even one of those idiotic girls such as Ino or Sakura. Shino would have been perfect; he was quiet, had good grades and he didn't form any type of emotional attachments with people. It would have been a nice and quiet team with Shino there instead of Naruto.

Suddenly, the door opened and the three gennin from Team Seven glimpsed their new instructor for the first time.

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The kids followed the Jounin ranked ninja to the highest place in the Academy building. They didn't understand the reason for moving from the class; however, it seemed that their new and mysterious instructor liked to be out in the open with fresh air on his face rather than in a dark room. Sasuke put his hands inside his pockets and followed while Hinata just continued to look at the ground in front of her as she walked behind him. Naruto pranced in front of them as he kept pace with their jounin teacher, hopping from one foot to the other as he excitedly asked him all sorts of questions about the missions they would have, what their training would be like and what they were going to do from that day forward, one right after the other without giving the older ninja a chance to respond.

Once they had reached the roof top, the man told them to take a seat. The three of them obeyed but they were all asking themselves what this was all about.

Hinata kneeled, as if she was at a tea ceremony while Naruto plopped down beside her; crossing his legs in an attempt to seem calm but his knee kept bouncing up and down giving away his excitement as he impatiently waited to receive his instructions. Sasuke sat on the stair steps behind Naruto and Hinata and quietly stared off the side of the roof calculating how much longer he would have to deal with these idiots. Hopefully not for the rest of his life. But could he even survive them until they were promoted to chunnin rank?

"Let's see…"The man started off with as he absentmindedly scratched his chin, which he kept covered with a ninja mask. His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against the railing around the roof. He sounded so bored, so uninterested that it began to worry the young ninjas. "Why don't you start by introducing yourselves? Start with your names, obviously. Then say what you like, what you don't like, what your hobbies and dreams are or…something like that."

"Hey! Hey! Why don't you start by introducing yourself sensei?" Naruto asked seeming a bit confused. They didn't know a thing about this man, but it seemed that his first impression of the three of them wasn't complimentary; in fact he seemed to hate them already.

"Me?" The jounin instructor asked pointing himself with his thumb. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes." Naruto was disappointed, but Hinata was still staring at the floor and Sasuke wasn't paying attention at all. "About my dreams…" His voice trailed off as he stood quietly staring off into the sky for a moment before seeming to shake himself. "And I don't have many hobbies…" Then there was nothing but complete silence. It seemed as if that was all Kakashi was going to say. Naruto scratched his head feeling that he had been cheated in some way. "Now it's your turn. You go first." Kakashi said staring at Naruto.

"Right! Right! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" He eagerly said. He really wanted to make a good first impression on his new instructor, Kakashi-sensei. "I really like cup ramen. But I like the ramen sold at Ichiraku's even more! Iruka-sensei invited me to eat there the other day!" Sasuke rolled his eyes as he listened to Naruto. Hinata was glancing over him with a shy smile, hanging on every word as if his idiotic ramblings were the most profound statements in the world. "I really hate those three minutes you have to wait after you add the boiling water to cup ramen." Hinata giggled softly, quickly covering her mouth in a cute girlish gesture. "And my hobby is to buy all the different types, flavors and brands of cup ramen, and compare them to each other." Naruto raised both of his fists to the air with a smile and ended his presentation with the most profound statement he could think of. "My dream is to become the best Hokage the Leaf Village has ever seen and make every single person that lives here acknowledge me."

"Ok. Next." Kakashi said.

He was still leaning against the railing with his arms crossed; he looked as if he was indifferent towards his students but he was actually paying close attention to everything they were saying. He could clearly see how much energy Naruto had, but the other two were much quieter, keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Sasuke stared into the space before him, his elbows resting on his knees with his finger entwined covering his mouth, as he focused on anything but the spectacle that was Naruto. Hinata still just stared at the floor pretending she was invisible; a seemingly permanent blush on her cheeks as she trembled with dread that he would call on her next. Kakashi could tell she was one of those very timid girls that always caused trouble for men when they grew up. They never even noticed just how attractive that shy quality could be for some gentlemen. He was, after all, an expert on the issue, seeing as how he had read almost every single romantic and erotic book on the market.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke spoke calmly when he noticed Hinata wasn't going to speak up. "There are many things that I hate and not much that I like." He never moved as he spoke, his hands still covering his mouth, his whole body unexpressive as he talked. "And I have ambitions since I don't plan on leaving them just as dreams… the revival of the Uchiha Clan and…killing a certain individual."

_I just hope he isn't talking about me._ – Naruto thought staring at Sasuke and swallowing loudly. Sasuke had spoken with such graveness that it was difficult to imagine he might be joking.

"Ok. That just leaves you." Kakashi said glancing towards Hinata.

They had to wait several moments in silence just for her to open her mouth. Both Naruto and Sasuke couldn't understand why she was making such a big fuss over having to talk when it was just them. Something wasn't right with that girl. She opened her mouth, sighed and then closed it again. It was like she had never spoken before a group of people as she avoided everyone's stares and her cheeks blushed red.

"I… I am…"She whispered so lowly that the three of them could barely be certain she had actually spoken. Naruto raised his eyebrows, staring in fascination at how red Hinata was becoming just from this simple task. Was she really _that _shy? How did she even plan to become a ninja that way? "I am…Hi-Hinata Hyuga, daughter of Hiashi Hyuga." Sasuke's eyes glanced over her with new interest. If that girl was the daughter of the leader of the Hyuga Clan, then, she was the same girl that had come close to him that day. "I'm…I'm eleven years old, my-my birthday is December 27th. I..I like …" She glimpsed at Naruto with such intensity that for a second, even Uzumaki wondered what was wrong with her. "My favorite f-food is Zenzei and…cinnamon buns."

"Aha. And what are your dislikes?" Kakashi asked.

"I..I don't like fights or confrontations. I don't like e-eating crab or…or shrimp." Her voice was still so soft and low that everyone continued to strain to understand her.

Sasuke realized the girl he had initially dismissed as just quiet, was completely different from him; more than likely they would have problems in the future because of it. He was seriously considering complaining about the designations of those groups, but then he worried that might give others the impression that he wasn't up to difficult challenges. If Hinata and Naruto were as useless as they seemed, every single role in a mission would fall on his shoulders, practically as if he were working on his own. That way, he could learn even faster.

A few feet away Naruto was wondering what the hell Hinata was doing there if she disliked fights. The shinobi world was all about fighting! He never imagined that what was going through that girl's head were images of her being forced to fight against her sister all the time, as their father Hiashi judged them and tried to decide which one was stronger. Hinata hated to argue with others, hated that her father would humiliate her in front of everyone when he confronted her about her weaknesses and especially when he declared her as a shame to her clan.

"Do you have some dream? Any hobbies, perhaps?" Kakashi asked.

"I..I…put flowers inside of b-books and…and… I wait for them to dry and get pressed. My..My dream is… to trust in myself so I can.. ch-change the way I am. I… I want to… to be recognized by my father." Sasuke's eyes got bigger when he heard her say that. A very profound pain was rekindled in his chest as pictures of a little boy desperately trying to learn fire jutsus flashed in his head. "I want… I want… I want to be a kunoichi as kind as my mother was and as.. as strong as my.. my father."

Naruto bowed his head at the painful confession the girl had just made. She simply wanted to be recognized, just like him. He felt guilty that he had never taken the time to talk to Hinata before. Maybe if he had known sooner that the two of them felt the same way, just maybe, he could have avoided all of those years of loneliness and sadness, and so could she, by being his friend and supporting each other.

"Don't worry Hinata!" Naruto said giving her a soft pat on the shoulder. "We'll become stronger together!"

Sasuke remained silent, but he never took his eyes off from Hinata, trying to understand the feelings of distrust and annoyance that ran through him. It bothered him to be reminded of the hurt he had felt as he grew up, the constant pressure to measure up to his brother's achievements just so he could be recognized by his father. Had this girl really gone through the same? Did she understand? Or had she heard rumors and was now just saying those things as part of a cruel joke?

-Well, that ends our presentations. – Kakashi sighed.

He had known he was going to be assigned the Uchiha kid in his group; his clan had been annihilated completely in a tragedy that the Leaf Village still mourned even to this day. But now, he had another noble kid. This wasn't good; the noble families always created problems when it came to the treatment that their daughters received on academic issues. Not only that, but if Hinata Hyuga was from the main family of the Hyuga clan, Kakashi had a sinking suspicion that she was probably the heiress. Not that he would ever be made to call her "Hinata-sama". That would have been the cherry on the top of this disaster ice cream.

"Hinata-san, I didn't know you were Hiashi Hyuga's daughter. I'll have to go talk with your father before I can properly train you."

Hinata nodded timidly, mortified to be drawing so much attention to herself. Kakashi order them all to accompany him to the Hyuga mansion so one after the other they walked silently, following their jounin instructor. It seemed as if he hadn't intended them to have the rest of the day off. He must be planning to start training them this very same day, and for that, they needed the permission (or something of the sort) from Hinata's father. If Kakashi didn't verify it was "ok" to train her he could get in trouble with the Hyuga clan or even with the Hokage.

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The district where the Hyuga clan lived was quite large and very traditional. You could tell from the moment you walked inside it that it had been there for many many years. Sasuke moved forward with his arms crossed tight across his chest as he followed right behind Naruto and Hinata, looking from side to side at the way these people with pearl eyes were working nonstop. He was reminded of walking the streets of the Uchiha district as a child, greeting people as he ran by, listening to them wishing him a good day and asking about Itachi. Ever since his clan's massacre those streets had fallen silent, a ghost town where all that was left were the memories and echoes of a past time when there had been life in those empty buildings.

He resented Hinata Hyuga for making him remember all of that. He clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth and kept walking.

The mansion where Hinata lived was much larger than the other houses around it. The entrance was beautifully decorated with cherry wood columns displaying the clan's symbol in the middle. They walked under the canopy formed by the cherry trees on each side of their path. The cherries were just beginning to mature, the occasional red spot standing out against the green leaves.

They passed over a small arched bridge made of wood. The pond under it was teeming with Koi, as the fish swam slowly from one side to the other. Naruto paused for a moment to praise the place, saying how beautiful it was and asking Hinata if those fish were edible.

Meanwhile, Hinata felt more and more embarrassed with each step she took. She dreaded showing them just how different her life was compared to the life of the rest of her teammates. The Hyuga clan was extremely wealthy and powerful; she had lived all her life with servants, nannies, governesses, maids, cooks, trainers and bodyguards. For once in her life she wanted to be normal, like any girl in the Leaf Village. But it was impossible to hide now; Naruto and Sasuke were seeing with their own eyes the way she lived.

"Wow Hinata! You must be loaded." Naruto scratched his head as he stared in wonderment without considering how impolite his comment had been.

"Of course she's rich. She is part of the Hyuga clan's main family." Sasuke retorted. Naruto's ignorance really annoyed the hell out of him. For the millionth time he wished this day would just come to an end already. "She is the heiress of the clan."

"That's amazing Hinata!" Naruto shouted. "You are really lucky!"

Hinata quickly bowed her head, but not before Sasuke caught her saddened expression. Did this girl actually dare to feel unhappy about having a family, a clan, about being the heiress? Watching her was like watching Itachi, only she lacked any talent. The eldest daughter of the clan's leader, the heiress, the princess, probably the one her father favored over anyone else. Being close to her was beginning to exasperate him. He could not stay here much longer.

"How long is this going to take?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Only a moment, Sasuke." The instructor answered.

They reached the entrance of the house and a man approached them. He had the same eyes as Hinata, but he was dressing like Kakashi. All those Hyuga and their pearly eyes did nothing but remind Sasuke that he could still not activate the sharingan.

"Hinata-sama!" Said the man, smiling as he approached them. "I didn't expect to have you back so soon."

"Hinata_-sama_?" Naruto snickered slyly towards Sasuke.

"I already told you, she is the heiress to the Hyuga clan." He answered without looking at him. "Every member of the clan owes her respect because she is their superior."

"But she's just a girl!" Naruto groaned, unable to believe that someone their age could be so important. "Do we have to call her _Hinata-sama_ too?"

"What's up Ko?" Kakashi greeted the man casually; it seemed like they knew each other. "Is Hiashi-sama around? I'd like to have a word with him."

"He is. He is training with Hanabi-san." The man answered making a short bow. "Please, follow me."

"Wow… they are all so polite." Naruto whispered to Sasuke as if Hinata couldn't hear him.

"Hmph."

From his position, Sasuke noticed how Hinata's eyes clouded over, as she stared at the floor as if she could disappear into it and escape from all those glances. He wondered why she was acting like this. Could he be wrong? Perhaps this Hanabi girl was the eldest daughter and Hinata the youngest. In that case, it was normal that his father would be focusing on making her fight against him, if she was the heiress she needed to be strong. He would have liked it if his own father had focused on him more than Itachi.

They walked down a long hallway out into an open area, where water fountains bubbles and other traditional decorations of the Hyuga house were displayed. Naruto couldn't stop admiring everything out loud, over and over again, talking about how great it must have been to live in a place like that and telling Hinata that she had to invite him over all the time now so he could eat there whenever they finished their training. He rambled on about sparring sessions at her house, and if they had their own thermal baths here ... and any inane thing he could think of.

Sasuke groaned; he used to live in a place like this. Beautiful, grand, but it wasn't so great when you were completely alone. He had left the mansion where his family had lived and rented an apartment in the center of Konoha. Loneliness seemed to increase with the size of a place when there was no one there to talk to.

"Wait here." Kakashi said as he followed Ko through a door and into the dojo.

The three of them were left in the corridor. Hinata leaned against a wall as Naruto flopped down on the wooden floors. Sasuke turned his back to them, facing out towards the garden. In the silence between them they could make out the strong voice of Mr. Hyuga talking to Kakashi-sensei inside the dojo.

_I've been designated the jounin instructor of your daughter, Hinata-san. _

_I see. Who else was appointed to the group? _

_Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke was the best student of his generation in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and the second best overall. Naruto Uzumaki… well… he… _

_An Uchiha and __**that **__kid. _

There was a moment of silence before Hinata's father spoke again, loud and clear.

_A Hyuga pairing up with an Uchiha. Was this the best group she could join? _

_The teachers at the academy describe Sasuke as a genius for his age. And Naruto…well… he is very persistent. _

_A genius? An Uchiha? __Ha! Neji Hyuga is a genius. __He is the best of his own generation and probably the most talented gennin from the Leaf Village. Most likely they placed her in this group so they could rub it in my face that my daughter lacks any talent. _

Sasuke grunted out loud, turning around to glare at Hinata with hatred burning in his eyes. How dare her father look down on the Uchiha clan that way? He was about to lose it. His entire body tensed as he tried to calm down, to repress his anger, but he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to.

… _As you know, a ninja's life is risky and we will be going on several missions that could put her in danger. I wanted to make sure beforehand that you agree to it. Besides, there will be times when we will train past the usual hours; it is possible that Hinata might arrive home at times of the night that aren't proper for a young lady of her status and nobility. _

_Do whatever you want with her. A failure like her that isn't even able to compare to Hanabi who is five years younger than her… is not necessary in the Hyuga Clan. She couldn't even be the best of her class as Neji was and he is from the branch family. Hinata is a waste in this clan, a mistake from nature and I wouldn't even be upset if she died on a mission. You can take her. _

Both Sasuke and Naruto gaped at Hinata. But the girl kept her head down. However there were no tears or sobs, or really any reaction; as if she was already familiar with such words, so overexposed to them that she didn't even seemed to be affected when listening to something as harsh as the words her father had spoken. So used to them that she had come to believe those words as the truth.

Naruto clenched his fists, understanding finally why she had so much trouble talking to them. She had probably lived her entire life in the shadow her father projected over her. He rushed into the training dojo shouting over and over again that Hiashi Hyuga was wrong, that Hinata could become a better shinobi. Kakashi swiftly grabbed him by the waist as he tried to pull him outside the dojo, apologizing as he struggled with the young ninja.

Outside Sasuke stood still. He understood that just as Hyuga had looked down on his own clan, he felt the same way towards his own daughter. He walked towards Hinata his expression still looking as if she and her family feud completely disinterested him.

He wasn't very good with this sort of thing. It was the first time he really saw Hinata Hyuga, understood that just like him, she had to grow up with the weight of being the lesser sibling. When his own father was alive, he had never talked towards him that way. But he had been completely emotionless, rarely saying that he was proud of him. And so even without the hurtful words, Sasuke had grown up with a huge hole in his chest that no matter how much he tried to fill it by becoming stronger, he couldn't make stop hurting. He couldn't even imagine how painful it would have been for Hinata to be treated that way all her life. To be disposable.

"Come." He ordered her as he walked down the hallway away from the dojo, once more with his hands inside his pockets.

Hinata raised her eyes from the floor and followed him quietly not really understanding why. They left the noise of Naruto's yells behind as he demanded Hiashi apologize to his daughter, as he repeated again and again that she was a good girl and that she could become someone strong. Kakashi again tried to apologize for all the fuss Naruto was creating, but the kid had grabbed tight to the two columns at the entry of the dojo so Kakashi couldn't drag him away.

"U…Uchiha-kun?" Hinata asked as she stared at his back when they had made it back to the entrance of her house. He sat down on the stairs.

Sasuke didn't speak, didn't move, just remained sitting there as he waited for Naruto and Kakashi to get out of there. Memories of his own past overwhelmed him as he heard Hiashi's words repeat in his head over and over.

In that moment, Sasuke felt he couldn't breathe, suffocating from the remembered pain, but he hid it well under that cold icy mask he always wore.

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"What gives you the right to tell your own daughter she is a waste?" Naruto screamed as he continued to hold tight to the columns as Kakashi pulled at him.

"People are born what they are." Hiashi answered without looking at the boy, his focus on the little girl who was fighting to get to her feet right in front of him. "Hanabi was born to this clan as a prodigy; Hinata was born as nothing more than a head ache, a head ache which is now yours, Kakashi."

"You bastard!" Naruto screamed again, trying with all his strength to get free from Kakashi, but he couldn't maintain his grip on the pillars and his hands finally slipped free from them. "How can you even say something like that?"

"That's enough Naruto." Kakashi said severely, covering the boy's mouth with his palm so he would stay quiet already. "I'm very sorry Hiashi-sama. Apparently my students don't know how to respect their elders."

"Apparently the Leaf Village is full of dishonor lately." Hiashi answered, annoyed by the scandal. "You know where the door is."

Kakashi dragged Naruto down the hall, away from the Hyuga clan training dojo. Kakashi sighed. There went his opportunity to use that wonderful place to train his new students during the winter courtesy of Uzumaki's outburst (He would have done anything to avoid getting wet and cold and be able to read his books under a roof). Minato, his teacher when he had been a gennin, couldn't have been less like his son, who he now manhandled out of the house.

Naruto was fuming; his arms crossed defiantly as he finally gave in and walked toward the exit. He could not believe there was someone so cruel as to treat his own daughter that way.

When they reached the entrance, they saw Hinata leaning against the wall of her house staring at the floor her eyes glittering with unshed tears. Sasuke Uchiha sat near her, a little slumped in thought as he silently glared into space. Naruto crossed quickly to where Hinata was standing and without hesitation he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You are not a waste. You are my teammate." He spoke firmly for he truly believed in the words he was saying. "You graduated from the academy and now you are a ninja too. We'll work really hard so you can shut your father's mouth!"

"Na..Naruto-kun…"Hinata whispered with tears in her eyes, smiling tenderly at him.

"Speaking of which…" Kakashi walked in front of them, going down the steps before facing his three students. "We'll start with missions tomorrow."

"Missions! Yes!" Naruto shouted with enthusiasm. "What is our mission about? Catching some criminals? Are we going to go fight a neighboring country?"

"Uhmm… not really." Kakashi answered looking at the sky. "This is the sort of mission the four of us can do."

"What? What? What is it about?" Naruto asked, so excited with the whole issue that Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes in his direction. "What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it?"

"Survival training." Kakashi couldn't help but laugh as he took in Hinata's fear, Sasuke's angry gestures and Naruto's surprised expression.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked as he stood up.

"From the 27 students that managed to graduate, only 9 will become gennin rank shinobi. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy to keep studying." The three of them opened their eyes wide in surprise at the words he had just spoken. "In other words, this survival test has a 66% possibility of failure."

"But! But! I worked so hard on passing the final exam…!" Naruto started complaining.

"You failed the final exam." Sasuke corrected him.

"_Grrr_…what would you know?" Naruto snarled, approaching him with his fists up in the air, ready to punch him.

"Do you want to fight, dobe?" Sasuke asked him with an arrogant smile as he easily avoided Naruto's first hit.

"You can fight against each other all you want…tomorrow." Kakashi interrupted grabbing their wrists so he could separate them. "The academy final exam only selects people who have the capacity of becoming gennin, it doesn't mean you graduate to shinobi rank. Tomorrow I'll determine if you can become ninjas or not. Bring your tools, equipment and ninja weapons. We'll meet at 5 A.M!"

Naruto was shaking. It had been so much trouble to pass that damn final exam and now he was going to be put in the line once more. If he failed he would have to go back to the academy, _again, _and for sure he would be the biggest laughing stock of all… the mere idea of it made him sick.

Hinata lowered her head once more to stare at the floor. This day really couldn't get any worse. She couldn't expect to pass. Maybe she should tell them right away that she was useless under pressure and that she would rather not go so she wouldn't become a nuisance for her teammates. But then she remembered… the task was for the three of them, if she didn't go… then Naruto-kun and Uchiha-kun would fail because of her. What should she do then? She didn't know the answer to that.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and Hinata, feeling so frustrated that he wanted to scream. It was more than obvious that those two would only cause him to fall behind and would completely fail as a team on that mission. He needed to be smart and cautious. He wasn't going to let those two ruin his dream of vengeance.

"Alright, you are all dismissed." Kakashi said closing that day's meeting; he would see them the next morning. "And remember… do not have breakfast. You'll be sorry if you do cause you might end up throwing up!"

**AN:**

_I wanted to thank once more __Ztothe9 for being my beta in this story and correcting my crappy English xD _

_To everyone reading, thank you so much. I put my heart and soul into this story and it's really hard for me to translate it and keep the same feeling to it. _


	4. Chapter 3: Teammates

**Chapter 3**

**Teammates  
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Naruto jumped from side to side, up and down, screaming and spinning wildly around in circles, declaring to the entire world that he was going to become Hokage and no one could stop him. Hinata stood shyly gazing at him with admiration for his undefeatable attitude; she aimed to follow in his steps as she pressed the little bell inside her fist.

Sasuke Uchiha struggled against the ropes that bound him feeling fury more intense than he had ever felt before in his entire life. He shook with rage as he watched Naruto rub it in his face that he possessed the little bell in his hand while Sasuke was tied to a log just as Kakashi had warned would happen if they failed their survival training.

"Who is the loser now huh? Huh?" Naruto taunted from a few steps away, dangling the bell before Sasuke, making it jingle. "The last ones will be the first ones, DO-BE."

"Just shut up!" Sasuke grunted. His sinister mood made everything around him seem darker. "This doesn't prove anything!"

"It proves I'm better than you. Loser." Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

Sasuke wished with all his heart that he wasn't tied to that trunk. He would have beaten him to death had he been free.

"Send me a post card from the Academy." Naruto went on as Sasuke fumed.

"Ok, ok… That's enough," Kakashi said, sighing as he stood in front of the three kids. "Let's see… what do I think of this whole exercise?" He placed one of his hands over his chin as he carefully thought about what he was going to say next. "Naruto is loud, very noisy, he doesn't know how to perform anything except for clones and his impulsive behavior could put the entire team in danger if he doesn't learn how to control it."

Naruto crossed his arms defiantly. "Even so, I still got the bell."

"On the other hand, Hinata is too nervous and she gave up even before we started. However, something made her change her mind as the training went on. By teaming up with Naruto they were able to trick me, something I'll try to erase forever from my memories. Well done, Naruto, Hinata. You may eat now." He gave each of them a little wooden box that contained food. "Sasuke, you can watch them eat, because… well… you failed."

"An Uchiha doesn't fail!" he bellowed, completely infuriated by his words. There was a limit to the things he would put up with. "Fight me now! I'll show you I'm much more talented than those two!"

"I don't doubt you are." Kakashi admitted as he shrugged lightly. Naruto's face turned blue. "You are much smarter than Naruto and way stronger than Hinata. Do you even understand why you are tied up to a log and they aren't?"

"Why don't you just say it yourself and stop wasting my time with riddles!" He screamed back at him.

"You said… _'__I'm not like those __two'_, when you tried to take the bells away from me," Kakashi continued, standing in front of Sasuke, leaving Naruto and Hinata behind him. "And it's true. You are better skilled, far more clever and intelligent, stronger, faster, and more determined than your teammates. However, you assumed that those two would be a nuisance if they worked with you and so you went ahead and did everything on your own. Ninjas that work like that, alone, with arrogance, forgetting about their teammates and depending only on themselves… are trash."

"Say that again!" Sasuke dared him.

He wasn't going to take anyone calling him trash. Naruto had to cover his mouth with both of his hands to avoid laughing out loud and Hinata watched the entire scene filled with sadness. Sasuke hated the way she was looking at him.

"Itachi worked by himself his whole life and he was the best ninja of his entire generation!"

"And those are the steps you want to follow? Become like Itachi Uchiha? Resemble the man you dream about killing?"

The question made Sasuke feel like there was a burning hole in his chest. The images of his dead parents and the shadow his brother cast over them still haunted him.

"They have a bell and you don't for one simple reason: Teamwork."

Kakashi closed his erotic book and put it away. It was the first lesson he was going to give as a teacher and he wanted his student to pay complete attention to his words.

"They both saw their own weaknesses and teamed up to deceive me. If you weren't so stubborn and obsessed with beating up your teammates instead of helping them become stronger, you would have seen the obvious." He pointed his thumb at Naruto's direction and sighed. "Naruto can make a great number of shadow clones that would have been hard to defeat all at the same time. My attention would have been focused on avoiding getting hit by them, and I would have been distracted." He stared at Hinata's direction and a soft expression crossed his features almost as if he was smiling, making the young kunoichi blush. "Hinata is smaller than the two of you, so she can hide better. She barely makes any noise and from what I read in her file, she is pretty good at using taijutsu. That's why while Naruto was attacking me, Hinata snuck towards me and managed to take the bells from my waist. They were able to use their best skills perfectly. They took a while to see the obvious, but they did it." He closed his visible eye and turned his face toward Sasuke. "And that's where you come in, Sasuke. You have the intelligence to have been able to use those elements in your favor and come up with a plan much quicker than those two. But you didn't. In a real battle situation, by the time they'd figure out what to do, you would have been killed, the three of you".

"There were just two bells!" Sasuke complained. He couldn't understand the point of that whole exercise. If they had gathered to work together, one of them would have failed anyway.

"Why do you think you are divided in groups of three when you graduate the Academy? Because three is a magic number? Missions are done in groups for a reason!" Kakashi sighed. He had never passed any student without them first taking the bells test. "If you can't see the answer to that question, then it's no news that you failed to see the point of this survival exercise."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Naruto laughed pointing at Sasuke with his finger. It was the first time he met someone who wasn't kissing the Uchiha kid's feet. He was starting to convince himself that Kakashi was cool. "Sasuke is a failure".

"Naruto! You weren't that good either," Kakashi turned his back to Sasuke and glanced at Naruto. "If you weren't looking reasons to fight Sasuke all the time you would have seen that his skills are far better than yours and you would have at least tried to learn something from him." After that his visible eye focused on the Hyuga girl. Hinata felt as if she was paralyzed by his intense gaze. "And you, Hinata, you just worried about Naruto during the entire exercise and not once tried to help Sasuke. The three of you failed in that matter, only, Sasuke failed with honors".

The three of them stood silently when Kakashi was done talking. They looked at each other understanding somehow that they were a team from that moment forward. They would not make progress at all if they each continued focusing only on themselves without understanding or helping one another. Naruto crossed his arms and gestured with disdain towards Sasuke as he frowned. On the other hand, Hinata realized that what her instructor said was true; Uchiha-kun frightened and intimidated her a lot, but he was also her partner.

"Sasuke! You don't need to go back to the Academy. In your case you should just give up the idea of becoming a Ninja."

Kakashi's voice was severe. Sasuke eyes flew open as he felt as if he'd been hit in the stomach.

"How can you even say something like that?" He asked lowering his head, his hair partially covering his eyes casting a shadow over his face. He was biting his lip so hard he tasted the metallic bitterness of his own blood. "Do you actually think that just because I couldn't get a stupid bell that I will give up?"

"You are just a kid. You think being a ninja is easy just because you are able to do a couple of ninjutsus. Do you think being a ninja is just about you taking vengeance for your clan? If your motivation for being here is killing your brother, then you are an idiot and I won't be your teacher!" Kakashi took a few steps towards him, feeling all the hatred that was radiating off Sasuke. The boy was so tense, so full of anger and frustration. He leaned slowly towards him. "Don't carry so much weight on your shoulders Sasuke… It will end up consuming you." He stood up straight once more and stared at his other two students. "Hinata, Naruto, take your bentos and have lunch. I'll give Sasuke another chance to prove he can take one of the bells this afternoon."

Kakashi turned his back on them and began walking carelessly, as usual, into the forest. Naruto opened the box his lunch was in, sniffing it as his eyes filled with tears. Hinata, normally too shy to eat in public, wondered if it would be prudent to do so in front of the person she admired, especially with the way Sasuke was staring at them.

"This smells delicious!" Naruto said inhaling the wonderful aroma of the food in the box. "_Itadakimasu_!" He split the chopsticks and started to eat his rice in an exaggerated manner, always commenting on how great the food was. He was becoming more loud and annoying with each bite.

Sasuke's stomach began growling. He frowned, irritated by Naruto's behavior. As if it hadn't been enough to have his pride demolished by everything that Kakashi had just told him in front of two individuals he considered completely inferior to him. On top of that, he was now forced to listen to that blond idiot make fun of him for being hungry and not being able to do anything about it.

"This is delicious, isn't it Hinata?" Naruto asked with a smirk, staring right into Sasuke's eyes. He was sure enjoying this moment. "This rice is like a little piece of heaven." Sasuke lowered his face and sighed with annoyance as he promised himself that if he managed to undo the tight knot on the rope, he was going to beat Naruto senseless. "And these vegetables are seasoned perfectly…" Every bite of food he took in front of Sasuke made him more and more furious. "And this chicken…"

"Shut up already!" The Uchiha screamed at him as his stomach growled over and over again and his cheeks slightly blushed.

"Are you hungry, Sa-su-ke?" Naruto asked grinning as his eyes narrowed. "All you have to do is ask and maybe I could give you some of my delicious lunch."

"I rather die before asking for something from you." Sasuke answered turning away from Naruto.

It was right about then that he found Hinata's eyes staring at him and Naruto's words started to make sense to him. All he had to do was ask.

Hinata stared at him in confusion as she split her chopsticks and chewed the rice slowly, embarrassed because of Sasuke's glance. She swallowed heavily and looked back at him, her cheeks burning. Why was he staring at her like that? Was there some rice on her face or something?

She focused her eyes on her bento once more, grabbing some vegetables and raising them to her lips. But she could still feel Sasuke staring at her and she could hear the way his stomach growled. She thought about offering some of her lunch to him, but he would only yell at her or lecture her about not being anyone's charity case. That's why, when she heard her name coming out from Sasuke Uchiha's lips, she couldn't help but look at him in shock.

"Hi…Hinata…" Sasuke started. "Humm…" He didn't know how to put it out there or how to ask. He'd never needed anybody's help or favors before. Starting now seemed very strange to him. "You… could you…?" His cheeks started to blush, he could feel it, which made him even angrier. "…I mean, if I'm going to try it again... with the bells and all… I can't…" His stomach growled once more.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and started laughing.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, the _great_ Sasuke Uchiha asking for a girl's lunch. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled. "Aren't we supposed to be teammates?"

"It seems we're only teammates when it's in your best interest, right?" Naruto asked stoically. He was dead serious as he rang the little bell right in front of Sasuke's face. "'_Hyuga is weak, she doesn't have the skills needed for this. She will only die or get us killed if she is our teammate',_" Naruto said trying to imitate Sasuke's voice. "Wasn't that what you said when she wanted to give up? You bastard."

Indeed he had said that when Hinata asked to stay out of the test before they even started it and now that Naruto was repeating it he understood how pathetic it was to ask something from her.

"If you have a point I suggest you get to it." Sasuke said.

"My point is that you don't even know us and you dismiss us, as if we weren't good enough for you or something. You treat us like nuisances in your way." Naruto answered getting more and more serious as the words left his mouth. He wasn't making fun of him anymore. He had never got along with Sasuke Uchiha, but he firmly believed there was more to him than the rest of the people could see. "Like it or not, we are part of Team Seven, Hinata, you and I. Start acting like it."

Sasuke turned his face away completely aggravated. He wasn't going to take it that a loser like Naruto Uzumaki had started lecturing him about the way a ninja was supposed to act. Was he serious? That loser in front of him had failed the final exam, three times! He had the worst grades in the class; he was always trying to show off and saying he was the best while everyone else laughed at him. And… that guy… was lecturing him?

He was about to lose it, but right before he could open his mouth to yell everything he thought of him, a sweet and shy voice interrupted them.

"U..Uchiha-kun… I…" Hinata swallowed heavily and offered him her bento. "Please, accept my lunch."

Sasuke stared back at it coldly. The girl couldn't even keep eye contact with him more than a few seconds before she looked away frightened.

"Don't give him your lunch Hinata. Don't you remember what he said yesterday?" Naruto asked, noticing how unemotional Sasuke's reaction was to Hinata's kindness. "He said that if you don't eat well he would start treating you as poorly as he treats me…"

"We'll share." She said almost whispering. "If… if Uchiha-kun doesn't have anything to eat… he… he won't be able to… and we won't… we won't be a team."

She stared at Naruto with sadness. The possibility of the three of them no longer working together made her feel forlorn. She had gotten used to the idea of being alongside Naruto and Sasuke. She didn't want to see one of her teammates fail just because he was too proud, even if that meant having to accept his constant belittling.

"Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sensei wants us to get along. I… I will do everything in my power to make it so."

Naruto and Sasuke reflected on her words. The blond boy shook his head slowly and Sasuke lowered his eyes. Staring at the grass under his feet he understood what the girl meant with that. It wasn't going to be a picnic working with them and being a team, but they were one now. It didn't matter how strong he was by himself, he was still just one person. If shinobi missions were done in groups of three, then part of his own growth so he could come closer to his goal meant working with them.

The whole issue annoyed him and he clenched his teeth. He really didn't care about going on missions or even becoming a shinobi for that matter. What he really wanted was to test his own strength, to have someone train him as far as he could go. That was the only way he could get closer to Itachi. He had to be at that level; he needed to learn the proper way to use his sharingan; he had to look for a way to make his brother pay for everything he had done. And that was the part he HAD to do by himself. What was the point in being in a group of three then? Would he become stronger if he had two teammates that would just slow him down on his way to reaching his objective?

All those thoughts twisting through his mind were torturing him, when suddenly, as he stared at the floor, he saw two chopsticks and a piece of salmon in his vision field. He raised his head and saw Naruto offering it to him, avoiding looking at him.

Sasuke leaned forward and ate it from the chopsticks. He didn't thank him, but he heard Naruto snort loud enough. He was sure it had been a big blow to his own pride to have to share his lunch with him.

He heavily sighed. Accepting help from other was something he didn't like, at all, but he knew there was nothing he could do to change it. If he wanted to become a better, more efficient ninja… he needed to learn how to work on a team.

"Uchiha-kun." Hinata indicated him her bento. Sasuke noticed she had barely touched her food.

"Hinata is such a good person." Naruto whispered with teary exaggerated eyes.

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"Th-Thanks." He swallowed heavily. He wasn't the type of person that would thank people period and having to do it now didn't please him at all, in fact it deeply embarrassed him. His cheeks were still flushed. "Could you…?" How was he going to ask her to feed him. "My hands…"

Hinata understood without the need of him explaining with further details. Grabbing her chopsticks she managed to form a little ball of rice and took it close to Sasuke's mouth without looking. He wasn't staring at her either, completely mortified by the whole situation.

๑

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Hinata went to bed that night with a soft smile on her face. Everyone in her team had passed and no one would have to go back to the academy. Apparently they were ready to start missions under the surveillance of Kakashi sensei.

She hugged her pillow feeling uneasy; she wanted to do everything she could to make Naruto-kun feel proud of being her teammate… and well, she didn't want Uchiha-kun to scream at her anymore either.

She smiled thinking of her new comrades as Kakashi sensei's words came back to her. Sasuke had passed his survival mission just by accepting their help. That had been his personal test, something as simple as to stop thinking he could do everything on his own. It had been a tough lesson for her teammate to learn, but she was sure that lesson had brought them together in a very special way for the rest of their lives, hers and Naruto-kun's and Uchiha-kun's as well.

She fell asleep with the sound of crickets singing outside her window.

She was startled awake by a loud noise right beside her pillow. Someone was tapping his shoes impatiently against the tatami with the clear purpose of waking her up. When her eyelids opened, she found a pair of black eyes staring at her from above, arms crossed and an unfriendly expression on his face.

She grabbed her sheets and covered herself completely, embarrassed that he had seen her that way.

"Uchiha-kun, Wha-what are you doing here?" It was simply impossible that someone had let him in her bedroom just like that. He was a boy and she was a girl, and things around the Hyuga complex were very traditional. If he had knocked on the door, they would have made him wait in the tea room just like any other guest. "How…?"

"I came in through the window," He answered evenly. "Get dressed. I'll meet you outside in five minutes."

She had so many questions on her mind in that moment. How did he get through the Hyuga compound walls? How had he gotten inside her room? How come no one had seen him? What was he doing there? Had something happened to Naruto-kun? Was there an emergency going on? But she couldn't get an answer to any of them. She just stood up from the futon and got her jacket on and then took her sandals in her hands to put them on when she left the house. She took her backpack that she had already packed before bed and she started running down the halls of her house without having breakfast.

It was then she noticed it wasn't even dawn yet. Everyone in her house was sleeping and the nocturnal crickets were still singing. There wasn't any life in the Hyuga district at that hour, so she wondered exactly what time it was.

When she left to the main road she saw Sasuke standing against one of the wooden pillars, with the same expression he always had, barely illuminated by the street lights. He turned around as Hinata rubbed her eyes, still sleepy, hampered by her backpack.

"Uchiha-kun… uhmm… what's going on? Why do we have to leave at this hour?" She was really starting to get worried. Something told her there must have been a grave situation for Sasuke to take her out of bed in the middle of the night.

"We are going to train." He said without paying any more attention to her as he walked down the street. "Let's go."

"Whe-Where?" She asked confused.

"Konoha's memorial, where we took the test yesterday." He answered coldly. "Do you always ask so many questions? Hn." He stuck his hands inside his pockets. "And here I was thinking you were a quiet person."

"I'm very sorry." She apologized almost instinctively thinking Sasuke was going to get mad at her again. "What about Na-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. If they were going to train, didn't he have to be there as well?

"He didn't open the door when I knocked. I guess he's still sleeping." Sasuke frowned just remembering it. He didn't like to lose time and he felt that looking for Naruto to train had been just that, a waste of his time. "I left him a note, when he wakes up he'll join us."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. There were plenty of times Hinata wanted to say something, but honestly, Uchiha Sasuke really intimidated her. His voice had a disturbing similarity to her father's when he was upset; with the difference that Sasuke was her age. She had always been shy with everyone around her, but with him… with him it was quite different.

There was a simple reason for that; Hinata was convinced Sasuke hated her for something she didn't even comprehend. They had encountered each other in the academy more than once and she had greeted him as she did with all of the rest of her classmates, just to listen his typical "Hn" as an answer. Or he would ignore her completely and keep walking.

She sighed remembering it, feeling nervous because they were alone with each other. She lowered her eyes and walked staring at her feet, slowly, step by step behind Sasuke.

When they got to the training spot she noticed the sun was going to come up any second now. The sky wasn't dark, but it looked barely blue, colorless. Hinata left her backpack beside one of the huge logs, just where Sasuke had been tied the day before. He did the same thing, putting bandages around his hands.

"What are your skills, besides hiding?" Sasuke asked as he tied his shuriken bag around his waist. "Can you use the byakugan yet?"

"How… how do you know about the byakugan, Uchiha-kun?" Hinata asked, quite surprised.

"Listen up, we are teammates now. Drop the formalities around me. I don't like them."

"I'm sorry"

"I'll take that as a no." He said rolling his eyes. "Have you at least tried to activate it?"

Hinata looked to the side and frowned, feeling rather miserable. She had tried alright, many times, but for some reason the byakugan was something she couldn't manage to control perfectly like the rest of the clan did. She knew how to make the hand seals, and her sight did turn more accurate, but… what happened with her eyes wasn't the byakugan and she knew it. That was one of the main reasons her father was always so upset with her. Hanabi could use the byakugan already and therefore, the gentle fist, the Hyuga Clan secret Taijutsu.

She had been trained in the gentle fist's style all of the life, and she could perform it at an acceptable level, but without the byakugan it was really ineffective to hit someone in a life or death situation. Neji could see and hit even the chakra coils with a surgeon's precision, while she couldn't even distinguish the chakra circulatory system. She was pretty sure that she could try as much as she wanted to see them and still fail. After all, her father would constantly tell her she was a nature's mistake. Still, she refused to give up on it. Watching Naruto all of those years sucking at everything he did, failing miserably and still not giving up had inspired her to follow his example.

"Ok, attack me." Sasuke ordered her severely staring right into her eyes. He didn't even take a defensive stance. "Are you deaf? Now, Hyuga."

"Before tha-that Uchiha-kun, may I ask yo-you something?" Hinata started playing with her fingers as she stared at the ground; she didn't want to look at Sasuke's face. She interpreted his silence as a positive answer. She barely moved her eyes to stare at his for a second and asked. "Why do you… do you want to train with me?"

"Naruto might be an idiot, but he can take care of himself. I can't say the same thing about you."

"I see." A lump formed in her throat. She could never speak up when someone called her weak, in fact, she was already used to hearing those kind of comments.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not like I care about you precisely." Hinata already knew that, she didn't get Sasuke's point by saying it. "However, if we are going to be a team, I'll make sure we are the best one," Hinata nodded sadly, she really didn't want to be a nuisance for anyone, anymore. Why didn't they recognize how much she was trying to change? "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She answered getting in the Hyuga fighting pose.

She gathered a small amount of chakra in her hands which made them glow in the middle of the dark environment.

Sasuke was a bit surprised. He had never seen the gentle fist style from so close before, not even when everyone would practice taijutsu in the academy; Hinata had never used it with them.

However, her posture was full of mistakes and weak points; she had gone right to him with her palms extended trying to hit him at the shoulder. Sasuke had no problems dodging her first swing and side-stepping as the girl passed by him. He just had to hit her hard enough in the back to destabilize Hinata with her own momentum and make her fall to the ground.

"Ow…" She complained as she sat down, coughing because of the punch.

Sasuke really didn't care if it had hurt her or not.

"Again." He ordered, stepping back.

Hinata stood up in pain and ran against him once more with her palm extended to him, only this time Sasuke took her by the wrist and hit her in the stomach with his knee.

"Aaah…" Hinata whined as she doubled over in pain.

Sasuke lowered his leg and jumped back twice, retreating. He lifted his hands in a defensive pose.

"Again. Get serious!"

Hinata managed to recover some of the air that had left her lungs and grabbing her stomach with one hand she ran in Sasuke's direction trying to hit him with her palms. Sasuke managed to avoid her several times just to watch and study the way she moved, but after she failed hitting him a fourth time, he tripped her by bending the articulations behind her knee and Hinata lost her balance, falling to the ground on her butt.

"Ouch…" She complained once more.

"That's all you got?" he asked as he smirked, looking at her from above.

"Uchiha-kun… I…" He throat completely closed because of that frustration knot that had been there for several minutes now. She was trying, she really wanted to become better, but Sasuke was too agile for her. She could feel the tears forming on her eyes, threatening to make her cry any second now. "I can't…"

"Are you giving up?" He asked seriously. He sounded like he was about to lecture her. "After what? Three tries?" Hinata remained silent, lowered her face and one by one tears started to run down her cheeks. "Maybe your father was right and you are useless after all…" The crickets kept singing in dawn's light as she quietly cried her pain away, just like she had all her life. "That's what everyone believes right? That you are weak and useless. Do you believe that too?"

"I..I don't!" She answered back as her voice cracked.

She stood up quickly and tried to hit Sasuke again, only there was much more chakra on her fists than before and this time she was aiming for his face.

Sasuke barely managed to miss her fists. It seemed Hinata wasn't as weak as she looked.

"Better." He answered as he tried to kick her in the ribs, but to his own surprise, the girl managed to avoid him by moving her feet in a very peculiar way, as if she was dancing over the grass. Was that movement a part of the gentle fist style too? "Much better…" He said with a small grin on his face. There was something about fighting that always made him feel happy. "Next time you start crying when we are training, I'll hit you so hard you'll beg me to stop. Understood, Hyuga?"

"Yes."

Naruto arrived later that day, just before midday. He watched them as they trained taijutsu, cheering Hinata over and over again screaming, "_You can do it Hinata!",_"_Give it your best Hinata!_", "_Don't let that bell-less bastard hit you!_" and all sort of comments like that. Hinata felt really happy with his presence there, she wanted the person she admired to watch her do everything in her power to catch him, follow in his steps and never give up.

On his part, Sasuke just felt annoyed listening Naruto's voice cheering for Hinata, as if that was a tournament match or something.

As they trained, Naruto made a small fire so he could heat some water up and then he took some cup ramen from his stuff to have lunch. It was just about then when Hinata and Sasuke decided to take a break so they could rest and eat something too.

Sasuke was carrying some onigiris in his backpack and Hinata accepted one of Naruto's cup ramen with a shy smile. The boy gave her his precious noodles as if he giving away a diamond, asking her to enjoy it because it was really worth it.

Sasuke watched them smile at each other feeling a little bit distant. Even though it was him who had been training with her since dawn, it was Naruto who got her attention and appreciation for being there. Sasuke ignored them, but deep down he felt somewhat frustrated. There he was, trying to do something for someone else for the very first time in his life and he didn't even get recognition for it. He shook that irritation from his mind and stopped thinking about it, discarding all of those thoughts as the result of being tired. He didn't care about Hinata, they were barely teammates, much less friends.

Then it was Naruto's turn to train and fight Sasuke. The whole thing escalated quickly and it became a bit more serious than the training done before.

Hinata watched them go at each other from the side. The Uchiha boy began to look more and more entertained each time he managed to hit Naruto's shadow clones and they disappeared. The Uzumaki kid would shout and scream in frustration, warning Sasuke he would pay for it. He in turn would laugh it up calling him a loser over and over again, especially when he managed to tie up his feet with invisible threads and Naruto fell face first to the ground. Sasuke laughed loudly and taunted Naruto when he told him that this time he definitely was going to hit him and instead he ended up punching a log (Sasuke was really good at using the replacement jutsu).

Evening came sooner than they expected and the three of them were exhausted. Naruto and Sasuke took off their shirts, sandals and socks very casually and went into the river clothed only in their boxers. Hinata covered her face horrified. She had never seen anyone wearing so little clothing and the fact that they had just undressed like that in front of her almost made her faint.

Naruto didn't understand why she was making such a big deal out of it and Sasuke grunted from the water that she was exaggerating things, inviting her to join them. Hinata quickly shook her head, covering her eyes until they were both covered by the calm water of the river.

She could only watch as they swam and cleaned the sweat and grime from their bodies. She wasn't carrying a bathing suit (and even if she had been she wouldn't have dared to be around others in such a small scrap of fabric). Naruto suggested she take her coat off and swim with them in what she was wearing, even insisting that they wouldn't spy on her if she decided to get in the water naked instead.

Sasuke swiftly punched him in the head, telling him that he had no tact or respect for their partner and the female mysteries (although deep down he too didn't see anything wrong with getting in the water naked, of course, that's because he was still at that age where those issues hadn't yet caught his attention). Slightly flushed, Hinata finally agreed to sit on the edge of a rock overlooking the river and dip her feet into the cool water.

It was just then when something odd happened.

Naruto and Sasuke had never gotten along. They had never said a friendly word to each other. Yet somehow, as the sun started to set in the mountains and they continued to play in the water, they glanced at each other and understood that they were thinking the same thing.

"Guys?" Hinata nervously asked when she noticed both Naruto and Sasuke had disappeared after diving into the river. "Gu..Guys?"

"Now!" Naruto yelled coming to the surface right next to Hinata and grabbing her right leg. Sasuke did the very same thing, only with her left leg.

Hinata sank heavily into the water with her eyes wide opened, glaring at her team mates underwater. They were maliciously smiling. She understood why Naruto would do something like that but she couldn't believe Sasuke had gone along with such a childish act. Generally he was so indifferent and serious; seeing him smile and play like others his own age was something completely new to her and it seemed very likely it was something new to him too.

Hinata was mortified as they broke the surface of the water and the two boys began laughing at her. Miraculously, instead of passing out, she began to laugh too.

"Hinata-chan! Can you swim?" Naruto asked all worked up with excitement.

"Ye..Yes." she answered coughing out a little bit of the water she had swallowed when she was ambushed.

"Great! Let's go!" Naruto screamed with enthusiasm. "The three of us, lets have a race from here to that rock over there!"

"You'll never defeat me, dobe." Sasuke told him with a small half smile on his face.

"Na..Naruto-kun, I'm not… I'm not that fast".

"Are you frightened, Hyuga?" Sasuke asked swimming close to her in an intimidating way.

Hinata promptly blushed at his proximity and the intense way he was looking at her.

"It's.. It's not that… I…"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Naruto complained. "On the count of three! The loser has to carry the backpacks when we return!"

"Three!" Sasuke yelled out.

They began swiftly swimming across the river to get to the rock Naruto had marked as the goal.

When Sasuke finally slowed and pulled his face from the water, he was sure he had easily beaten them. Instead he was very surprised to see that Hinata had gotten there before him. He stared at her as he raised one of his eyebrows.

Naruto came to the surface to check who had gotten there first.

"Who won?" he asked grabbing some air.

"Hinata." Sasuke answered, suspicious as the girl moved her eyes quickly to the side.

"Really?" Naruto questioned them again, surprised that she had told them she wasn't fast and later managed to beat them. "Hinata-chan is amazing! Then, who lost?"

"You." Sasuke answered with a smirk on his face.

"Nooooo!" Naruto screamed as he held his head and sank into the water.

"Wow, that's a very pleasant way to waste some time."

Kakashi sensei's sudden voice almost caused Hinata and Sasuke to scream, as they saw him standing on the water in front of them. One of Sasuke's eyes was twitching and Hinata was stunned speechless from his sudden appearance. How did he even manage to walk over water and come right to them without being noticed?

"What have you three been doing all day?" Kakashi asked as he took out his Icha Icha Paradise book and started reading it with his visible eye.

"Training" Sasuke answered shortly "And now we are swimming".

"I have some news. Tomorrow you'll have your first D rank mission" Kakashi announced to them.

"A mission?" Naruto asked raising both of his hands enthusiastically and promptly sinking back under the water. He came up sputtering "What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it?"

"How much do you like to pick up trash and find missing pets?" Kakashi asked as he smiled under his mask.

The tortuous D rank missions had just begun.

* * *

**NOTE**  
_Just wanted to thank the amazing __**Ztothe9**__ for correcting my translation mistakes. I've been writing this fic in Spanish for a year now, and I wanted to share it with English readers too. __I am sorry if this isn't a literary gem xD But I am happy if the point gets through. So, lets me know what you guys think after reading it. It would mean a lot._


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